Sunday, March 30, 2008

Random Thoughts

I'm trying not to pay any attention to the 8 inches of snow that fell last night and this morning (our town even made the news!). Actually, it is melting now and the snow has turned to a nice rainy drizzle (which is what we usually experience this time of year in the Seattle area).

I'm "womaning" the oven this afternoon - tending the evil decadence of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies - mounds of mouthwatering yumminess (is that even a word?). I only make these puppies about 4 times/year because they take an entire afternoon or evening to make. Don't let the word "oatmeal" fool you - while there are 5 cups of oats in them, there is also a full pound of butter, 4 cups of sugar and 4 eggs, not to mention 4 cups of chocolate chips. We leave out the nuts because our house is nut-free for the health of our son.

That leads me to my big question for the day: Should I even be making these cookies when our son can't eat them because they have eggs and butter in them (he's also allergic to those ingredients)?

Until today I haven't felt too guilty about making the cookies. We freeze most of them (they take up most of the freezer, though, because the batch is about 8 dozen LARGE cookies!) and have an alternate treat for our son when we eat them. But this afternoon he keeps asking, "Can I have that ingredient?" "How about THAT, is THAT on my list?" He also throws guilt-inducing comments at us like, "Mmmmmmm . . . . those sure smell good. I bet you'll really enjoy them, won't you?"

On the other hand I have my overworked husband who BEAMS and dances around the house giddily (again, is that a word?) for days when I make the cookies. You can HEAR the man smile at the mention of them. And today, he's run down with some sort of sinus deal (attributed, I believe, to the blooming cherry trees, which are now thorougly confused by this unusual snow) and so I thought the cookies would help him feel loved and cared for (because 2 children hanging on him all day isn't really doing the trick!).

So, tonight (assuming there are any left, as my son keeps delivering cookies to his dad to help him feel better!) the adults will have gourmet cookies and the kids will have orange jello for dessert. I guess I'll take comfort in the fact that we'll make my son's treasured pumpkin cookies later this week, but it just doesn't seem quite fair. I really hope that he outgrows these food allergies (and that my daughter doesn't have them, too), otherwise this might be the last time I can deal with the guilt of making them when the kids can't enjoy them, too.

We've had the same issues and each kid is allergic to different things. They are pretty good about it, just know that there are certain things they are allergic to and don't want to have it make them sick. They get different treats and are okay with it, but then again, every kid is different. I'm sorry you are going through this too. I know how it is to watch every stinking label.... the worst is when you slip or just make a mistake and they get something they shouldn't have. I always feel terrible.

About Me

Author of the award-winning book We Are Girls Who Love to Run/Somos Chicas y A Nosotras Nos Encanta Correr, a bilingual inspirational book about running. Wife of a fellow-runner, mother of two busy children and caretaker of one loving dog.